Strategies for incorporating nouns and verbs in code-mixing: the case of Pashto-English bilingual speech

Abstract

A recurring issue in the analysis of code-mixed speech concerns the strategies for incorporating nouns and verbs. How can nouns and verbs from one language be felicitously incorporated into sentences from another language? This paper analyses this question with a case study of English-Pashto bilingual speech. English nouns appear in determiner phrases marked with Pashto case endings, and English verbs have an associated light verb with Pashto inflections. Code-mixing and lexical borrowing have led to a large amount to indigenized English elements in Pashto. Code-mixing is a device of indigenization whereby Pashto speakers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have adopted and nativized the English elements in their local use.

Social Factors and Pashto-English Codeswitching: The Case of English as Embedded Language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

“…Through his research, he proved that the codeswitching pattern is not spontaneous it is constrained by social factors like education. Khan (2014) research on codeswitching shows that if codeswitching happens between L1 and L2 (in the case of this study it was English and Phasto Language)the insertion remains the dominant pattern. Through study, it was found out that embedded language noun is the most prevalent switched element in the morphosyntax frame of Matrix Language.…”

“…Through study, it was found out that embedded language noun is the most prevalent switched element in the morphosyntax frame of Matrix Language. Khan (2011Khan ( , 2014Khan ( , & 2020) has focused on the grammatical aspects of Pashto-English codeswitching. The studies of Khan (2014) are about the strategies of incorporation of English nouns and verbs in the Pashto language.…”

“…Khan (2011Khan ( , 2014Khan ( , & 2020) has focused on the grammatical aspects of Pashto-English codeswitching. The studies of Khan (2014) are about the strategies of incorporation of English nouns and verbs in the Pashto language. Khan (2018) focused on the morphosyntax aspects of Pashto-English codeswitching based on the constraints proposed by the Myers-Scotton (1993& 2002 Matrix Language Frame model.…”

“…In such societies, L1 always has the dominant role and it is used as a language of communication in the community. Khan (2014Khan ( , 2020 has only focused on the structural dimension of codeswitching. This study is much important as English is the official language of Pakistan and many English words are indigenized with the help of phonological and morphological integration (Khan, 2016).…”

“…This study is much important as English is the official language of Pakistan and many English words are indigenized with the help of phonological and morphological integration (Khan, 2016). The type of bilingualism that is observed in the KP of the Pashto speech community is selective bilingualism and that's why the density of bilingualism can only allow the patterns of insertion (Khan, 2014).…”